Week 3 Question: Why might the queering of Tintin offer new life to the series?

5. Why might the queering of Tintin offer new life to the series?

Tintin has already been established as a series plagued with issues regarding Hergé’s depiction of gender and sexuality yet despite this the topic of Tintin’s sexuality has been an aspect of discussion surrounding the series. This is due to Tintin’s sexuality within the comics being very ambiguous and as a result of this, the queering of Tintin could breed new life into the series by reclaiming him as a gay icon and in a way that could build off Tintin’s ambiguous sexuality. Taking the series in this direction could also present a way forward, past the problematic depictions of gender in the comic series.

Very little, if anything, about the character of Tintin, is defined by his gender, there is not anything particularly masculine about him. In Paul Mountfort’s article, Tintin, gender and desire (2020) he mentions how “envisaging Tintin as a girl or young woman would make little material difference to his depiction in the series, other than perhaps to raise eyebrows at his living arrangements with Haddock” (Mountfort, 2020, p.13). Throughout the many readings of the comic series, Tintin himself has been read as a strongly feminised character, especially when compared to Haddock who exhibits many traits that are typically associated with masculinity. This is due to Tintin showcasing many ‘feminine’ qualities like being silent, observant, and surprisingly tender, evidence of Tintin exhibiting these qualities is furthered due to his relationship with Haddock in which he assumes a more passive position. This is why the vagueness surrounding Tintin’s gender and sexuality is seen as inherently queer as it allows Tintin to be viewed as any gender or sexuality. Mountfort claims that “he can be read as a boy, a ‘girl’ (in relation to Haddock) and thus a quasi-adult male, or even a castrato. As gay, a-, bi-, or even pan-sexual” (Mountfort, 2020, p. 14). These qualities allow Tintin to be read as a queer character and why it would be a surprisingly natural step to canonize him as a gay icon. “He appears to sit somewhere outside of the heteronormative and in this respect evidences a form of queering” (Mountfort, 2020, p.3). Taking Tintin in this direction would not only create a revitalization of the series in some way, whether it be through an adaptation, remake, or brand-new series, it could allow Tintin’s character to be explored in various new ways and expand upon him.

Therefore, the queering of Tintin would help breed new life into the series by introducing a progressive aspect that shows the series is willing to change since the representation of gender and sexuality in the series is severally outdated. This allows the series to move forward past the problematic gender representation. The result would be a series that has undergone a cultural rehabilitation of sorts that could bring the series back and would also take advantage of the hidden potential present in the series by capitalizing on the possibility of Tintin as a gay icon.

References

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829